Palasë
Encyclopedia
Palasë is a village close to the Llogara National Park
in the Albanian Riviera
. It is located in the municipality of Himarë
(13 kilometres from the town), in the District of Vlorë, Albania
. The inhabitants of Palasë speak mainly a variant of the Himariote Greek dialect
, and partly the Tosk Albanian dialect.
, named Palaesti .
On January 4, 48 BCE during his pursuit of Pompey
, Julius Caesar
lands in Palaeste (modern Palase). Until the 1750s Himarë was composed of more than 50 villages, but by the end of the 1780s it comprised only 16, situated by the seashore from Saranda to Palasë. Later on, with Ali Pasha
's defeat, the region of Himara shrunk to only seven villages. In September 1916, the provinces of Himarë and Tepelenë became part of the Vlorë prefecture and were placed under the control of the Italian armed forces. The city of Himarë became the official capital of the region and was responsible for the administration of the traditionally Orthodox coastal villages of Palasë, Dhërmi
, Kudhës
, Qeparo
, Vuno
and Iljas
. However each village retained its own identity, despite falling under the municipality of Himarë.
, accessed via the main road leading out of the town. The Llogora Pass and Çika
Mountain are nearby. The Thunderbolt Mountains, the western chain of the Ceraunian Mountains
, enclose the area on its northern and northeastern side. The area opens up on its southwestern side with the mountain of Çika
and descends towards the Ionian
coast and the Greek Islands of Othonas and Corfu
in the distance.
The village contains narrow stone roads and quaint white houses and is built around a 100-year-old platanus
(plane tree) , which is central to village life and the pride of the village. Geologically the terrain belongs to the western part of the Ionian Tectonic plate. This section of the coastline is referred to by geologists as the Palasë-Butrint
coastline. The Palasë beach is 1.5 kilometres in length.
North of Palasë, is located a small bay, named Grammata ('letters' in Greek), accessible only by sea, with the surrounding cliffs containing various epigraphs, texts and symbols, perhaps carved out by sailors.
, and partly the Tosk Albanian dialect.
Llogara National Park
Llogara or Llogora National Park is a national park in Albania declared since 1966 by the Albanian Government. The park covers an area of 1,010 hectares and protects the forests on the north side of the Llogara Pass between a height from 470m to 2,018m above sea level...
in the Albanian Riviera
Albanian Riviera
Albanian Riviera is a coastal area in the County of Vlorë running along the Ionian Sea under the Ceraunian Mountains in Southern Albania. It should not be confused with the Albanian Coastline as a whole which incorporates both the Riviera and the mostly flat coastline of the north...
. It is located in the municipality of Himarë
Himarë
Himarë is a bilingual region and municipality along the Albanian Riviera in southern Albania and part of the District of Vlorë. Apart from the town of Himarë, the region consists of 7 other villages: Dhërmi, Pilur, Kudhës, Qeparo, Vuno, Iljas, and Palasë....
(13 kilometres from the town), in the District of Vlorë, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
. The inhabitants of Palasë speak mainly a variant of the Himariote Greek dialect
Himariote Greek dialect
The Himariote Greek dialect is a dialect of the Greek language that is mainly spoken by ethnic Greeks in the Himarë region of Albania. Despite the small distances between the towns in the region, there exists some dialectal variation, most prominently in accent.-Classification:Despite the fact...
, and partly the Tosk Albanian dialect.
History
In classical antiquity there was a settlement of the Chaones, one of the three major ancient Greek tribes of EpirusEpirus
The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
, named Palaesti .
On January 4, 48 BCE during his pursuit of Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
, Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
lands in Palaeste (modern Palase). Until the 1750s Himarë was composed of more than 50 villages, but by the end of the 1780s it comprised only 16, situated by the seashore from Saranda to Palasë. Later on, with Ali Pasha
Ali Pasha
Ali Pasha of Tepelena or of Yannina, surnamed Aslan, "the Lion", or the "Lion of Yannina", Ali Pashë Tepelena was an Ottoman Albanian ruler of the western part of Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire's European territory which was also called Pashalik of Yanina. His court was in Ioannina...
's defeat, the region of Himara shrunk to only seven villages. In September 1916, the provinces of Himarë and Tepelenë became part of the Vlorë prefecture and were placed under the control of the Italian armed forces. The city of Himarë became the official capital of the region and was responsible for the administration of the traditionally Orthodox coastal villages of Palasë, Dhërmi
Dhërmi
Dhërmi is one of the nine villages of the Himara region/municipality, in Albania. The village lies 42 kilometers south of the city of Vlorë and about the same distance north of the southern city of Sarandë. The village is built on a slope of the Ceraunian Mountains, at approximately 200 meters in...
, Kudhës
Kudhës
Kudhës is a village on the Albanian Riviera in Himarë municipality, District of Vlorë, Albania....
, Qeparo
Qeparo
Qeparo is a seaside village on the Albanian Riviera in Himarë municipality, District of Vlorë, Albania. Nowadays Qeparo is divided in two parts, known as the old and the new village.-Name:...
, Vuno
Vuno
Vuno is a village in the Albanian Riviera. It is located in the municipality of Himarë, in the District of Vlorë, Albania, along the road between Himarë and Dhërmi...
and Iljas
Iljas
Iljas is a maritime village on the Albanian Riviera in Himarë municipality, District of Vlorë, Albania....
. However each village retained its own identity, despite falling under the municipality of Himarë.
Geography
The village is located several kilometres northwest of the town of DhërmiDhërmi
Dhërmi is one of the nine villages of the Himara region/municipality, in Albania. The village lies 42 kilometers south of the city of Vlorë and about the same distance north of the southern city of Sarandë. The village is built on a slope of the Ceraunian Mountains, at approximately 200 meters in...
, accessed via the main road leading out of the town. The Llogora Pass and Çika
Çika
Mount Çika is a mountain in the south-western region of Albania bordering the Ionian Sea. The highest peaks of Çika are Maja e Çikës standing at 2,045m above sea level and Maja e Qorrës at 2,018m. Since the mountain is situated bordering the Ionian sea, it appears to be very high as it begins to...
Mountain are nearby. The Thunderbolt Mountains, the western chain of the Ceraunian Mountains
Ceraunian Mountains
The Ceraunian Mountains is a coastal mountain range in southwestern Albania. The name is derived from Ancient Greek Κεραύνια ὄρη, meaning "thunder-split peaks"....
, enclose the area on its northern and northeastern side. The area opens up on its southwestern side with the mountain of Çika
Çika
Mount Çika is a mountain in the south-western region of Albania bordering the Ionian Sea. The highest peaks of Çika are Maja e Çikës standing at 2,045m above sea level and Maja e Qorrës at 2,018m. Since the mountain is situated bordering the Ionian sea, it appears to be very high as it begins to...
and descends towards the Ionian
Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea , is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania to the north, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and...
coast and the Greek Islands of Othonas and Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
in the distance.
Platanus
Platanus is a small genus of trees native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae....
(plane tree) , which is central to village life and the pride of the village. Geologically the terrain belongs to the western part of the Ionian Tectonic plate. This section of the coastline is referred to by geologists as the Palasë-Butrint
Butrint
Butrint was an ancient Greek and later Roman city in Epirus. In modern times it is an archeological site in Sarandë District, Albania, some 14 kilometres south of Sarandë and close to the Greek border. It was known in antiquity as Βουθρωτόν Bouthroton or Βουθρώτιος Bouthrotios in Ancient Greek...
coastline. The Palasë beach is 1.5 kilometres in length.
North of Palasë, is located a small bay, named Grammata ('letters' in Greek), accessible only by sea, with the surrounding cliffs containing various epigraphs, texts and symbols, perhaps carved out by sailors.
Language
The inhabitants of Palasë are bilingual as they mainly speak a variant of the Himariote Greek dialectHimariote Greek dialect
The Himariote Greek dialect is a dialect of the Greek language that is mainly spoken by ethnic Greeks in the Himarë region of Albania. Despite the small distances between the towns in the region, there exists some dialectal variation, most prominently in accent.-Classification:Despite the fact...
, and partly the Tosk Albanian dialect.
Notable people
- Paskal MiloPaskal MiloPaskal Milo is an Albanian historian, politician, and leader of the Social Democracy Party of Albania. He is also been a member of the Albanian Parliament since 1992, and a professor of Albanian and Foreign literature...
(born 1949), politician - Ilir Paco (born 1972), head of news departament at the biggest Albanian TV channel, Top Channel
- Lefter Kashta (born 1948), Profesor, University of TiranaUniversity of TiranaThe University of Tirana is a public university located in Tirana, Albania.-History:UT was founded in 1957 as the State University of Tirana through the merging of five existing institutes of higher education, the most important of which was the Institute of Sciences, founded in 1947...
- Niko Pano
See also
- Ceraunian MountainsCeraunian MountainsThe Ceraunian Mountains is a coastal mountain range in southwestern Albania. The name is derived from Ancient Greek Κεραύνια ὄρη, meaning "thunder-split peaks"....
- ChaoniansChaoniansThe Chaonians were an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the region of Epirus located in the north-west of modern Greece and southern Albania. On their southern frontier lay another Epirote kingdom, that of the Molossians, to their southwest stood the kingdom of the Thesprotians, and to their...
- DhermiDhërmiDhërmi is one of the nine villages of the Himara region/municipality, in Albania. The village lies 42 kilometers south of the city of Vlorë and about the same distance north of the southern city of Sarandë. The village is built on a slope of the Ceraunian Mountains, at approximately 200 meters in...
- Greeks in Albania
- Himara
- Himariote Greek dialectHimariote Greek dialectThe Himariote Greek dialect is a dialect of the Greek language that is mainly spoken by ethnic Greeks in the Himarë region of Albania. Despite the small distances between the towns in the region, there exists some dialectal variation, most prominently in accent.-Classification:Despite the fact...
- Tourism in AlbaniaTourism in AlbaniaTourism in Albania is characterized by the archaeological heritage inherited from Greek, Roman and Ottoman times, unspoiled beaches, challenging mountain ranges, Cold War artifacts, unique traditions, unequivocal hospitality, delicious traditional cuisine, and the wild and peculiar atmosphere of...